Catalytic apparatus



Sept.v 16, 1952 R. K. HUNTER- CATALYTIC APPARATUS Filed Feb.` 2. 1950 Patented Sept. 16, 1952 UNITED STAT-ES PATENTMQFFIC-'El` "asiooe' I n i y cATAnY'ric APPARA'rUs Robert 'K4' Hunter, Oak Park, Ill., assignor to Universal Oil Products Company, Chicago, Ill., L a corporation oi' Delaware v A l, e .z Application February 2, 1950serii'Nq. 142,0 5zfs claims.' (c1. 2342188) This invention relates to an improved method 'and means for introducing` subdivided particles, -such as catalyst, into a' contacting chamber, and

more particularly for' eiecting both the continuous introduction of particles into a contacting cles with a gasiform reactant stream'.

In moving bed and iiuidized particlefo'pera'- tions, where subdivided or finely dividedxlsolid material is transferred from one contacting zone chamber and a iiuidized contacting of the partito another, such as in the catalytic `cracking of hydrocarbons, itis desirable to maintain con"- tinuous uniform ow or movement of the particu- "lated material so that eicient contacting `1is *eiected and desired products obtained. Fluidized contacting is of` particular advantage in Vthat there is a turbulent contacting between the fluidizing stream-and the particles, with a resulting eiiicientproduction'of desired reaction products within a minimum contacting time: The present Aoperation and apparatus means is particularly `directed to the'control; and regulation of iiow of "-particle'form material into 'a contacting chamber, Where the'solid material is transferredby gravity iiow from one chamber to another.

tion, of course,'is not limited to thetransferA of any. particular type' of material, for the particles Vmayb'e catalytic, adsorptive, or of ai substantially .'inertnature. 1

Y It is'aprincipal object ofthe present invention to provide a method and means for the continuous introduction of subdivided particles into ,a

contactingchamber, in a mannerv'whereby-the l"gravity ow of material to the chamber is, controlled or regulated without the -useof valves or other mechanically operated means.

Itis also anobject of the present-invention to -provide forV the controlled introduction of subdivided particles into the contacting chamber and in combination therewithuan eflicient flu-A idized contacting of the particles.

A'still further object of the invention Ais to provide for the introduction of subdivided par'- ticles into a contacting chamber whereby the reactant stream'is jetted into the chamber'and into on t'o an accumulation of particles, with the ac"- cu'mulation of particles being maintained 'horizontally below and closely adjacent the descend',- ing vcolumn `and eiecting a throttling of fthe downward iiow of particles, passing a regulated iiuid stream angularly` upwardly around-thea cumulationof particles in a pluralityofzjetelike streams, entraining the subdivided particles-from the accumulation thereof and therebyx-eiecting a uidized ycontacting simultaneously withthe controlled withdrawal ofy particles fromzthe deiscending `confined column' of; particles,l .thefjet streams 'and ventrained lparticles,` passingvr upwardly'in a fluidized iiow through a onlled an;- nular zone circumscribingthe lower-,portionqof the confined'descending column of particles, and subsequently permitting entrained, particlesto settle in a gravitydescent into the; lower ,portion of the contactingfzone. j v, '-1- rIn Va preferable apparatus arrangement, the particle .inlet conduit extendsv downwardlyV into the interior of the contacting chamber and afluid inlet conduit extends rinto-the interior of-the chamber to yapoint' directly below the particle inlet-conduit, with the iiuid conduit terminating in distribution means having- -a 4plurality onorifices directed angularly upwardly and outwardly around the edge of av flat horizontal platewhich in turn isl positioned directly a short distanceIbelow the particleinlet conduit. Thus, infopera tion the plate member providesv for an accumu lation of subdivided particles froml 'the' downf` wardly extending-*particle inlet conduitland serves to retard or throttle the gravity flow. of particles from that conduit member, ,while theplurality of jet streams from the orifices of the fluid-lisetributing means continuously withdraw ,ad'fencontact withjthe particles to effect a regulated introduction of the patricles, a nuidized contact ing of the particles, and in addition recirculation of subdivided particles within the iluidized zone of the contacting' chamber, with a resulting. .e

' cient turbulent contacting thereof and anzeflicient conversion operation. I.

Briefly, the present improved` method-of introducing subdivided particles intov a confined contacting zone, comprisesrpassing the subd'if' vided particlesV continuouslyy downwardly 1n a confined compact column and discharging them train particles from the edge of the V acci'i'mul'ation of particles .andLpass them up in iluidized manner., y Y. A y A relative simple anddesirable apparatus'er bodiment provides an inverted conicallyrshaped iluid distributing head at l,the en'd'o'f` the-fluid conduit, with a flat plate memberjextendirig across the conically shaped outlet head, topro-i vide an accumulation surface for thepartdes descending through Ythe inlet conduit." Thefilat plate meinberlmayin turn have "a plurality oi holesor oriiices placed atan angle karound,the, periphery-thereof, to in turnV provide'fo'r theplu'- rality of jet streams of the reactant iluidjbein'g introduced, through theinlet conduit. yThefup-I wardly projecting" vjetpstreams of reactantvviluid may then, as hereinbefore described, ventrain particles from the accumulation and regulatelthe conduit and at the same time entrain the par` 'inner annular contacting zone.

shaped zones within the contacting chamber.l

The entrained and fluidized particles from .the accumulation on the plate at the uid inlet head are carried upwardly through .the inner vannular section or zone formed by thevcylindrical baille plate, in a turbulent iluidized contacting operation. At the top of the cylindrical baille; within,

the enlarged area, the entrained particles lose velocity and tend to settle within the annular zone on the outside of the cylindrical bailie and thus passA downwardly between the-baule and the inner Wall of the contacting chamber. A major portion of the vparticlesrsettle into the lower 'portion of the contacting chamber for withdrawal Figure 2 of the drawing is a plan view of the fluid distributing head within the contacting chamber, as indicated by the line 2 2 in Figure 1 of the drawing.

Referring now to the drawing, there is indicated a contacting chamber I having a vertically disposed particle inlet conduit 2 projecting downwardly into the interior thereof. TheV conduit 2 being suitable to transfer subdivided solid contact material from a supply source or from another contacting chamber, with the material therefrom, however, a. portion of the .particles may. be recirculated from below the lower edge ofV the cylindrical baille and passv upwardly with the jet streams and'entrain'ed particles, and thus against contact the reactant stream within the the cylindrical baille, the angular position of the plurality of jet streams of reactant fluid, and the velocity of the jet streams, may be varied to affectthe amount ofrecirculation in the par- The length of ticle contacting zone. `*The placement of the orifices for the jet streams, aswell as the-size of the streams and velocityof fluid', also laffect the rate of entrainment and withdrawal of subdivided particles from the particl'e"inletconduit.

In a usual moving bed operation, rv vherein the subdivided contacting material descends inl a gravity iiow through vone or more contacting chambers, it is usually necessary to maintain a considerable depth of bed and considerable contacting period between the reactant stream and the'moving bed of particles, in order to insurethe uniform and thorough contacting between the fluid stream land the contact material. 'It is, therefore, of particular advantage in the present operation to makeuse of a'fiuidiz'ed'zone 'for rapid and turbulent contactingl of the solid particles, such that an efficientconversion is effected, and as a' result the contacting chamber may be reduced in size to in turn effect a substantialjreduction in the initial cost of the particular processing plant.

vpanying drawing and the following description .A

Figure lof the drawingindicating'diagram? matically a partial elevational view of a particle contacting chamber and its internal 'means for effecting the introduction of the subdivided particles.

descending by gravity flow in a substantially compact column of particles. A fluid contacting orl reactant stream is introduced into the contacting chamber I' by way of a conduit 3 and control valve 4, with the conduit terminating in an enlarged fluid distributing head 5. The distributing head in this embodiment is conically shaped and has a flat 4vplate B extending across the flared or enlarged end ofthe head 5. The plate 6 has an imperforate center section and is spaced but a short distance below the lower `end of the particle inlet conduit 2 as well as placed symmetrically therewith,v such that the particles descending by gravity through the conduit 2 may accumulate on the upper surface of plate 6 to eifecta retardation or throttling of the flow of particles.- A plurality of orices 1 are positioned around the edge or periphery of the horizontal plate 6 such that the uid medium entering conduit 3 is distributed in a plurality of jet-like streams to in turn entrain the subdivided particles from the accumulation thereof, as indicated by the numeral 8, maintained between the upper surface of theplate 6 and the lower end ofthe conduit2. f

:In a preferable apparatus arrangement, the plurality of. orifices 'I are directed angularly upwardly and outwardly with respect to the fluid distributing nozzle 5 so that the particles are entrained from the lower or outer Vedge of the accumulation of particles 8, to'be projected upwardly against the inner wall of the cylindrical baiiie 9 and within the confined annular zone I0, formed by the baille 9 which encompasses the lower end of the inlet conduit 2. 'The height of the bafiie 9 may'be varied .-to suitlthe desired conversion conditions between the"subdivided particles and the fluidizing reactant stream, providing a fiuidized contacting zone, where the particles passVA concurrently upwardly with the reactant stream. The enlarged cross-'sectional area of the chamber I at a point above the upper edge of the baffle 9 effects a lower velocity gaseous oryaporous'flow and the subdivided particles descend in a gravity flow or by settling through the annular zone II, maintained between the battle 9 and the inner wall of the chamber I. The descending particles from zone I I pass to the lower portion of the chamber I for accumulation in the lower portion thereof and for subsequent transfer through outlet conduit I2. However, in accordance with one feature of the present operation, the cylindrical bale 9 is positioned and arranged to control the ow of the subdivided material such that at least a portion of the particles may be recirculated upwardly through the fluidizedA contacting lzone I0. In other words, the lower periphery ofthe baflle '9 may be placed with respect to the'orices 'l and 4the fluid distributing head 5 such that the action of the jet-like fluid streams issuing from the orifices will draw in and entrain some of the particles descending through the outer annular annular zone l0.

section Il and thus carry them upwardly for recontacting with the iluid reactant stream.

It may also be pointed out, that the plate 6 may be placed or positioned at varying distances from the lower end of the inlet conduit 2, or alternatively, may have a varying diameter, so as to regulate the amount of particle accumulation thereon. While in addition, the number of orifices 'l and the ow rate of the reactant stream may be varied to regulate the entrainment of particles which are being withdrawn from the inlet conduit 2. In a given apparatus, the spacing of the plate 6 from the end of the inlet conduit and its diameter will be fixed to accommodate a particular type of subdivided material having a given angle of repose as it flows from a substantially vertical inlet conduit. High nozzle velocities for the jet streams issuing from the plurality of orifices l provide a substantially low pressure area at each side thereof so that, as hereinbefore noted, there is entrainment of particles from the accumulation 8 and a suction or Venturi effect which entrains particles from below the lower edge of the circular baffle 9 and which have descended through the outer annular zone Il.

While this particular method and means for introducing particles to a contacting chamber is particularly adaptable for the conversion of reactant streams in the presence of catalyst particles, it is not intended to limit the operation to the use of only subdivided or nely divided catalyst material.

In catalytic operations, the present method of introducing and contacting the subdivided catalyst particles may well be used in the reaction zone for the conversion of desired products, or

alternatively within a regeneration zone where carbonaceous deposit is burned and removed from the catalyst particles by contact with an oxygencontaining stream. The present operation and arrangement is particularly desirable for regenerating vessels in that normally relatively large regeneration zones may be reduced in size through the use of the iiuidized turbulent contacting effected within a relatively small compact zone. A gaseous diluent medium may be mixed with the oxygen or air stream if it is desirable to vary the rate of uid introduced into the contacting zone without substantially changing the oxygen content and a desired rate of burning of carbonaceous matter from the particles. The diluent stream may be introduced to conduit 3 by way of line I3 and control valve I4.

The present angularly positioned orifices 1 are drilled or otherwise positioned to project the jet streams of the uid medium toward a midpoint of the baille 9 so as to insure the upward entrainment of all particles through the inner The placement and number of orices indicated in the drawing is of course not limiting, for obviously a greater or lesser number of orifices may well be used, or alternatively various types of nozzles or small conduits may well be used in place of the drilled orifices to provide the plurality of jet streams around the edge of the flat accumulation plate 6.

I claim as my invention:

1. Apparatus for introducing subdivided particles into a confined contacting chamber, which comprises in combination, a particle inlet conduit extending downwardly into said chamber, a fluid inlet conduit extending into said chamber and having a fluid distributing means positioned a short distance directly below the end of said particle inlet conduit, a cylindrically y shaped baille spaced from and encircling the lower end of said particle inlet .conduit forming an iriner uidized contacting section and an outer particle settling section, said distributing means at the end of said fluid inlet conduit comprising a horizontal vplate having a fiat imperiorate portion beneath the lower end of sai-d particle inlet conduit and a plurality of orifices directed upwardly an-d outwardly from the periphery of said horizontal plate and fluid distributing means toward an intermediate portion of said cylindrical baille, with said plurality of jet orifices leiective in entraining particles from the accumulation thereof on sai-d horizontal plate and carrying them in a uidized now upwardly through said inner uidized contacting section prior to passing downwardly through said outer annular settling zone.

2. Apparatus for introducing subdivided solid particles into a confined contacting chamber, which comprises in combination, a .particle inlet conduit extending downwardly into said chamber, a fluid inlet conduit extending into said chamber and discharging through a fluid outlet nozzle positioned a short distance directly below said particle inlet conduit, said iluid outlet nozzle having fa flared cone-like shape and a plurality of orifices at the periphery thereof with a flat plate having an imperforat-e central portion positioned directly below said particle inlet conduit permitting the accumulation of particles and a throttling of particle ow from said conduit, said plurality of orii'ices from said nozzle directed upwardly and outwardly symmetrically therefrom whereby to effect the entrainment of subdivided particles from the accumulation on said flat plate and the continuous regulated withdrawal of particles from said .particle inlet conduit, cylindrical baffle means spaced from and encircling the lower end of said particle inlet conduit forming thereby an inner annular open-ended fluidized Icontacting zone and an outer Iparticle settling zone communicating with the lower portion of said contacting chamber. said fluid outlet nozzle being of lesser cross-sectional area than said cylindrical shaped baille, whereby said plurality of jet streams entrain the subdivided particles upw-ardly through the inner annular iiuidized contacting section, prior to reaching the enlarged cross-sectional area of said contacting chamber above said cylindrical baille and a subsequent settlement through said outer annular zone into the lower portion of said chamber.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 further characterized in that the lower end of said cylindrical baiile is elevated with respect to said iiuid outlet nozzle and orifices such that a portion of said subdivided particles descending through said outer annular settling section are entrained with sai-d jet streams and particles passing upwardly through said inner annular fluidized contacting section, whereby to recycle subdivided particles therethrough.

ROBERT K. HUNTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,218,078 Flugel May 24, 1938 2,367,351v Hemminger Jan. 16, 1945 2,379,734 Martiri July 3, 1945 

1. APPARATUS FOR INTRODUCING SUBDIVIDED PARTICLES INTO A CONFINED CONTACTING CHAMBER, WHICH COMPRISES IN COMBINATION, A PARTICLE INLET CONDUIT EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY INTO SAID CHAMBER, A FLUID INLET CONDUIT EXTENDING INTO SAID CHAMBER AND HAVING A FLUID DISTRIBUTING MEANS POSITIONED A SHORT DISTANCE DIRECTLY BELOW THE END OF SAID PARTICLE INLET CONDUIT, A CYLINDRICALLY SHAPED BAFFLE SPACED FROM AND ENCIRCLING THE LOWER END OF SAID PARTICLE INLET CONDUIT FORMING AN INNER FLUIDIZED CONTACTING SECTION AND AN OUTER PARTICLE SETTLING SECTION, SAID DISTRIBUTING MEANS AT THE END OF SAID FLUID INLER CONDUIT COMPRISING A HORIZONTAL PLATE HAVING A FLAT IMPERFORATE PORTION BENEATH THE LOWER END OF SAID PARTICLE INLET CONDUIT AND A PLURALITY OF ORIFICES DIRECTED UPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY FROM THE PERIPHERY OF SAID HORIZONTAL PLATE AND FLUID DISTRIBUTING MEANS TOWARD ON INTERMEDIATE PORTION OF SAID CYLINDRICAL BAFFLE, WITH SAID PLURALITY OF JET ORIFICES EFFECTIVE IN ENTRAINING PARTICLES FROM THE ACCUMULATION THEREOF ON SAID HORIZONTAL PLATE AND CARRYING THEM IN A FLUIDIZED FLOW UPWARDLY THROUGH SAID INNER FLUIDIZED CONTACTING SECTION PRIOR TO PASSING DOWNWARDLY THROUGH SAID OUTER ANNULAR SETTLING ZONE. 